Thriller

My generation finally has our Elvis. I wasn't alive when he died, but I know that pretty much everyone who was can tell you exactly where they were when they found out he died. I know my mom was at home, nursing my brother and watching her soaps. And she was in Union Square when she heard that JFK had been shot. But until now, my generation hasn't lost anyone of that magnitude.

Where were you when you heard that MJ had died?

I was in the lobby of the Khaosan Tokyo Annex Hostel, waiting for my students to be ready so we could catch our train to Kyoto. CNN was playing in the lobby, and I had to read the headlines 3 times before I believed it was real. Even though we were already running late, I couldn't resist running back to the rooms to tell the students the news. I wasn't sure if they would be as shocked as I was, but they were, possibly even more so. It delayed our departure another 5 minutes, as the girls held their own moment of silence before leaving their room. It meant a lot to me that my students, 15 years younger than me, were just as affected as I was by the loss of Michael. He spanned generations.

And nations! Over the next few days, Japanese people often went out of their way to come and ask us if we had heard the news, and express their own sadness. It seemed they hoped to be the first to tell us about it, but were not surprised when they found we already knew. I don't think there is any other American pop star whose passing could have had such an impact on a global scale, so in a way it was fitting that we was abroad when it happened. We were not alone in our shock and grief - for the rest of the trip, MJ was on every TV we came across.

The most memorable moment though was on our last day. We were regrouping at the hotel cafe to get ready to head to the airport for our journey home, where MTV Asia was playing on the big screen TV. The whole trip, I had been really strict about leaving on time, and constantly rushing everyone else. It was really important that we leave on time that afternoon, as we were lucky enough to be treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of Narita airport before our flight out. There were very, very few things that I would consider a justifiable excuse for being late to that tour, as a lot of people had used a lot of connections to arrange it for us. And right about when it was time to leave, the Thriller video came on.

The cafe waitress walked over to the TV and turned up the volume. Everyone in the cafe, Japanese and foreigners alike, stopped their conversations to watch. I don't think my students could possibly understand how much that video meant for me growing up, but it was clear that they loved it just as much as I did. And it was a really cool moment to sit there and watch it with them at the end of our 10 days together in Japan, oohing and ahhing over the same dance moves and singing along.

Of course, we were late for our tour. But it was totally, totally worth it.

Rest in Peace MJ